I remember distinctly one time during Sunday School about a month after I converted. A lady got up and bore her testimony. I was used to people bearing their testimony about JS, JC, and Tommy, but I was NOT prepared for what came out of her mouth...She said, "I would like to bear my testimony that there ARE babies who need to pass through the veil. It's our job as women to bring those spirits forth. My womb is open to those babies and I want to bear my testimony that all married women have a responsibility to bring those spirits into bodies and not to put off childbearing for our own selfish desires. IsaythesethingsinthenameofJesusChristamen."

I remember it not registering. Then it was, wait, what? Spirits into bodies? The VEIL?! That was the first time I thought, whoa, this is not what I expected. Something's weird here. Do you remember having any moments like that?

The one which still stands out to me the most was actually when the missionaries first began teaching me. They told me about the First Vision.

I remember raising an eyebrow and going, "Oh yeah?" A guy in New York? Yeah, right.

I'm not sure at which point I managed to just put it on a shelf.

Not a convert but my most shocking moment was in single's ward. The bishop had a "special" meeting where questions were asked and he would answer them. One of them was "do we practice polygamy in the next life?"
Bishop said "Yes.... but Shhh! You didn't hear it from me!"
*Wink, Wink*
"We need to practice it because the gene pool is too small with just one wife."

I expected ladies to be appalled but none of them even look shocked... I was like wtf? I thought it was the crazy "antis" that made this up?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2013 12:08AM by ness.

I learned the same lesson in Beehives class in 1989. I was 13 at the time, & absolutely sickened & appalled.

I don't know that we teach it

Not long after joining at age 24 (hormonal convert), I heard in church one day that Joseph Smith believed people wearing Quaker clothing lived on the moon. It was a big WTF moment for sure, but of course everyone had an explanation.

I suspended a lot of rational thought over my 20 years in the church.

The piece of doctrine that really jumped out at me as a recent convert was the whole "Kolob" issue. That, combined with all the hundreds of exact rules and regulations with no room for a middle ground really made me rethink my decision to join. I just couldn't believe that a divine faith would have SO MANY man-made rules.

After I left the church the BOA problem was a big eye-opener for me!

God was once a man...made my head spin.

The odd teachings of the church were not really what turned me off. It was the unethical behavior and stereo types thrown around. The treatment of women, minorities, gblt, and even down to the obsession of male sexuality. I turned away from the church for those reasons. They simply use teachings as excusable means to treat others as inferiors. Unfortunately they believe they are simply sad for these people not having the gospel. They view their judgment as longing to help, when in reality they are just boxed cattle with the ability to think critically put into remission.

woodsmoke Wrote:
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> Do you remember having any moments like that?


Yes.
When they told me that John the Apostle is alive.
Shortly after, I also found out about the three Nephites.

Shocking.

Hey Tommy, What's happening brother?

I would probably have to say the Jaredite barges story was one of the most far fetched things, to the point where I had to control my laughter. Then, there's the relatively common Mormon belief that Jesus had blue eyes and white skin, which sounded racist to me. After all, if there were a historical Jesus, he would have had darker skin as do most people who've inhabited that part of the world.

The thing that disturbed me the most, was a month after the 2001 terrorist attacks on 9/11 when some TBM said that the attacks were a blessing because it meant that the Middle East would finally be opened for missionary work. It's no coincidence that I resigned exactly a year from that Sunday. Now, if that person wants to serve a senior mission in Afghanistan or Iraq, they're more than welcome to do so if they want to be a martyr so bad. I say that because the person who said that was closer to the age when people go on senior missions.

Went on overnight temple trip with Bishop's wife and stake RS pres. It was 4 miserable hours of hearing them complain about their husbands and talk about the men they "could have had." They acted like rude, hateful harpies; it looks like they would have kept this stuff to themselves if no other reason but that I was in the vehicle, and a convert. They were "best friends" and acted cliquey like we were in high school. Thank god this was not my first temple trip. I was thankfully left out of the conversation and tried to sleep; finally just laid there with my eyes shut. Then the Bishop's wife started with, "I know you're just pretending to be asleep, etc." Had I been an emotionally well person, I would have never spoken to them or looked back after that little trip. I heard waaaaaay more than anybody would want to. Their husbands were pricks, but they were no better.

Sorry, I just noticed that what I wrote about was not a point of doctrine! But, it was shocking!

As a nevermo of a daughter who converted I was SHOCKED when I heard mormons believed this. SHOCKED. STILL is shocking. What a bunch of crap. Golly but Mormons are gullible...especially the women.